Once the Dust Settles
by Cubit2
Summary: A missing scene from ep 7.23 Wehe' ana (Prelude). Things look a bit different once the dust settles after the armed battle with the assassins sent to kill Makino. Danny whump.


A/N I know some of you were expecting the next chapter of Charade but I've had basically no time to write and then this scene got stuck in my head and I had to get it out. I pounded it out as fast as I could, despite the fact that it took a turn I didn't expect, so I can get back to Charade when I get another chance to write. Soon I promise.

I love the fact that Danny is so smart and skilled that he can take down a gang of terrorists (in ep 7.8 Hana Komo Pae/Rite of Passage) and a gang of trained assassins (in this ep 7.23 Wehe' ana/Prelude) without a single cut or bruise. That takes skill. But, hey, some readers enjoy a little Danny whump so this is for you. I just want to add that I really liked this episode so very much. I loved learning more of Danny's back-story and, as you all know, Scott was magnificent and amazing – as usual.

A/N Special thanks to Wenwalke for the super-fast beta but I made a bunch of changes afterwards and besides, all mistakes are mine anyway.

A/N I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters or, sadly, even an autographed photo of Scott Caan.

H50 H50 H50

"You're welcome," Steve said, holstering his handgun and turning to Tanaka and Jenny as Danny walked behind him. He knew Danny, knew him as well as a person could know another. He knew that now that the danger was gone, Danny would experience a massive adrenaline dump, knew that Danny's emotions would be erratic and barely contained, knew that Danny wanted some privacy to pull himself together. So, he reached for Tanaka's hand and then Jenny's and accepted their thanks for his "timely intervention."

But if he was honest with himself, and after working with Danny for seven years he had learned to do that because Danny would call him out if he weren't, he enjoyed the attention, the adulation. 'You must be Steve,' Tanaka had said earlier. Steve grinned as he thought of it. Danny must have spoken about him, must have assured them that Steve would come in and save the day – and he had.

But if Steve were truly honest with himself, he would have to admit that the true hero of the day was Danny. Makino never would have even made it out of his bedroom door if it hadn't been for Danny battling it out with a trained assassin. Tanaka and Jenny never would have made it through this alive, either, if it hadn't been for Danny's stalwart leadership, quick thinking, skilled driving and sheer courage and tenacity. Steve never would have even known where to go if Danny hadn't kept Steve informed each step of the way. "Just follow the gunshots." It had Danny's trademark snark and flare but it was sound advice. Danny didn't know the street name, only the house number - 5, his flight from the assassins being so incredibly frantic.

Nearly a year before, Danny had risked his life twice in a day to save Steve's and had received no credit whatsoever for it. Bizarrely, Steve had received all the attention and recognition. Now it was happening again. Steve wouldn't allow it. "I think Danny's the one you should be thanking," Steve said as he turned and looked proudly at his best friend. "Danny?"

Danny had stepped away as Steve turned to Tanaka and Jenny and accepted their thanks for saving their lives. His heart was pounding in his chest and his head was thrumming a similar beat. As his body reacted to the adrenaline dump, he began to become aware of the aches and pains in his body that he hadn't allowed himself to notice before. A sharp fiery pain flared in his left side and he pressed his arm against it to try and keep the pain at bay. Suddenly the room spun before him and his stomach lurched, his vision going white.

He heard Steve calling his name and he forced heavy limbs to turn him around. "Yeah?" he rasped. Was that really his voice? It sounded far away, as if he was talking into a tunnel.

"Danno? What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"He's bleeding," Jenny observed as she stepped closer.

Danny looked down, noticing the inside of his left arm coated in blood.

"Were you hit? Have you been hit?" Steve asked frantically as he reached for his friend.

"I'm alright," Danny protested, still staring at his uninjured yet blood covered left arm. "Just need to sit down." His legs began to give way and all three people around him reached for him at the same time.

"Not here buddy." There was no way Steve was going to let his best friend sit down amidst the rubble and broken bodies.

They led him to the sofa and he collapsed into it with a soft groan, Steve pulling Danny's shirt up immediately to assess the wound. "Shit, you've been hit."

"I'll call for a bus," Tanaka said, stepping away. He glanced at Makino and amended his statement. "A couple of busses."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jenny chastised as she and Steve began emergency care.

"I was a little busy," Danny defended with a huffed shout.

"I know," Jenny agreed as Steve tore open Danny's shirt to get better access to the wound.

"Hey, I liked that shirt," Danny grumbled. "You owe me a new one."

Steve grinned and Jenny looked at him with an understanding nod. Over the past few hours she had learned a bit about how Danny Williams worked. This man in front of her apparently knew it very well.

Danny hissed in pain as Steve pressed a blanket he found on the floor across the long wound.

"Here, this is a bit more sterile," Jenny told Steve, handing him some gauze from her bag before turning her attention to the side of Danny's head. There was a lump buried under his blond locks. "You've got a large bump here," she said, touching the wound.

"Crazy ninja bitch." Danny hissed and growled in a breathless reply as he flinched from the touch. "Hit me with a metal tray."

"Easy. Easy." Steve tried to stop Danny's squirming, wanting to avoid causing more blood loss.

"Did you lose consciousness?" Jenny asked as she checked Danny's vitals.

"If I had, we wouldn't be here," Danny told her frankly in a pain filled voice. "I'd be dead."

"Who was she?" Jenny now inquired.

"A trained assassin," Steve explained. "Wanted for several murders on the mainland. These guys had to come in when Danny took her out. You did good, Danno."

Tanaka whistled as he stepped back next to them and observed the large bruise blossoming on Danny's chest amidst the blood leaking from his side. "An assassin, huh? Looks like she got some good licks in." It actually looked like a shoe. Then there was another bruise forming around his neck. Ouch. "First bus is 10 minutes out. Second will be a bit longer."

"Okay. Thanks," Jenny replied while Steve simply nodded, eyes never leaving his best friend's pained face.

"How's he doing?" Tanaka asked.

"HE'S right here," Danny mumbled in complaint.

"You look pretty pale," the former Captain told him.

"That another haole joke? I thought we moved past the haole jokes," Danny retorted.

"Pretty deep groove in his side," Steve said in answer to Tanaka's question, ignoring the haole comment from his injured partner. "They're going to need a whole spool of thread to sew up this one," Steve told Danny with a grin. In reality, though, Steve knew that although the wound wasn't life threatening, it was long and wide enough that getting it to heal properly was going to be a protracted and uncomfortable process.

"He'll probably need a pint of blood, too," Jenny offered her opinion.

"Do me a favor, huh?" Danny asked, turning to Jenny.

"What do you need?"

"Don't let them give me his blood, okay?" He indicated Steve with a slight flick of his head. The movement caused a spike of pain as the room spun around him. He slammed his eyes shut with a groan.

"What? You should be begging for my blood," Steve responded, trying to distract Danny from the pain and nausea, while placing a settling hand on Danny's chest.

"You're a Neanderthal," Danny griped.

"My blood has gone through your liver, Danno," Steve explained with not a small amount of pride and gratitude as he continued to apply pressure to the bleeding wound.

"Are those scars from the liver donation?" Tanaka asked, nodding his head at Danny's exposed abdomen and the scars that littered it.

"Liver donation? The long crescent shaped one would be, I think," Jenny replied, showing off her medical knowledge. "The other two look like stab wounds of some sort."

"I'm right here," Danny growled, prying his eyes open. "I'm not some med school specimen."

"Sorry. I heard about the liver donation," Tanaka said, pulling his eyes away from Danny's injured torso and up to his now-open eyes. "All the guys were talking about it."

Would have been nice if they had acknowledged him for it, Steve thought angrily. He knew that Danny had risked his life and sacrificed half his liver without a thought of thanks or credit, but it really burned Steve up inside that so many had crowded to his side and sent cards and balloons and flowers and best wishes to him while completely ignoring Danny's noble sacrifice. His anger was released with an unplanned increase in pressure on Danny's wounded side.

Danny hissed in pain and reflexively shifted away from the strong painful pressure, even while knowing that Steve was reacting to the comments about the liver and the memories it induced. "What the hell, Steven?" He grumbled. He couldn't flat out ask Steve if he was okay in front of Tanaka and Jenny - not in normal people talk anyway so he communicated their way.

"Stop moving would you?" Steve growled back as he looked Danny in the eye and saw the understanding compassion there. He couldn't very well discuss his true thoughts and feelings in front of other people. He could only do that with Danny. But, he knew that Danny would understand what he meant to say when he said. "You're squirming like a baby."

"Baby?"

"That was you?" Jenny now asked Danny, inadvertently cutting off his impending rant. "You're the one who landed the plane on the beach and then donated your liver to save your partner?"

"Half his liver," Steve corrected her.

"Seriously?" Danny asked. "You're going to get picky over fractions?"

She looked at Steve as Danny spoke. "You're the one he saved?"

"Yeah," Danny huffed, answering for him. "Don't know what I was thinking. This putz is still a gigantic pain in my ass."

Steve grinned and nodded his head. Danny had the Grand Canyon carved out of his hide but he was going to be all right. "And now I can't stand the sight of pineapple on pizza. I blame you for that, partner."

"I hear sirens," Tanaka said. "I'll go wave them down and bring them in."

"I'll go check on Makino and get him ready to go," Jenny said before she walked away as well.

"How ya doin, Danno?" Steve asked his best friend with concern as the other two moved away.

"Sign me up for a marathon." Danny shifted with a pained grimace, trying unsuccessfully to find some comfort. His whole left side was ablaze, from front to back. Or was it from back to front. Danny wasn't really sure but he thought the latter was probably the most accurate, having a clear recollection of the painful moment when the bullet seared through his flesh.

"That good, huh?" Steve would have grabbed one of Danny's hands in a show of support but he didn't want to move them from applying pressure to the still seeping graze.

"Oh shit," Danny said, suddenly remembering. "Charlie. Grace has cheerleading but I have to pick up Charlie."

"School doesn't end for another couple hours, Danno, but I'll pick him up. Relax."

"Relax? You're telling me to relax?" He growled. "I need to finish his bed."

"I told you, I finished it already."

Danny now vaguely recalled him having said that but he was too preoccupied at the time to make note of it. "You what? You finished it? Of course the control freak finished it." Danny sighed in frustration. He appreciated his partner's help but he just wanted to do something nice for his son, something the boy would enjoy immensely, something from Danno.

"He's gonna love the bed you got him, Danno. The whole room, in fact. "

"You think so?"

Steve sighed. Danny was the best father ever and yet he constantly doubted himself. Maybe, it suddenly occurred to him, because other people were constantly doubting Danny's abilities in other areas, like Tanaka and HPD for instance. "I'm sure of it, Danno."

The paramedics came in the door and Jenny waved them to tend to Danny. Thanks to the generator that Danny had risked his life for, she had everything with Makino under control. "Let us in there, sir," one of them said to Steve. "We'll take care of him now."

Steve begrudgingly stood up and stepped away, but his eyes never left Danny's as he told the medics of Danny's injuries and gave a brief medical history. The recent liver donation was an important factor for the doctors to be aware of. He cringed as Danny stifled a pained groan when they moved him onto the gurney and then stepped over and laid a comforting hand on his arm.

Steve wanted to ride with Danny in the ambulance, wanted to be there for him as Danny always was for him but, reading his thoughts, Danny spoke up. "You have to stay here until someone can take over. It's an active crime scene."

Steve glanced at Tanaka. Danny, having again read his thoughts, spoke as he pushed away the oxygen mask the medics were trying to fix over his face. "Tanaka is retired."

Steve nodded and turned to the paramedics. "Don't even bother trying to put that mask on his face." He wouldn't betray Danny's trust by exposing his claustrophobia if he didn't have to. He'd do things their way. "The man never shuts up. The mask will drive him crazy."

Danny's eyes widened. "YOU drive me crazy. Leaving without you will be pure bliss."

They both knew that in normal English it sounded rather mean and nasty. In their very own partner-speak, though, Steve knew that Danny meant nothing of the sort.

The End


End file.
